Author: Magarey, C
Conference/Journal: Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Date published: 1983
Other:
Volume ID: 27 , Issue ID: 3 , Pages: 181-184 , Word Count: 130
Medical technology has not reduced the death rate from cancer fro 50 years, in spite of its physical and psychological morbidity. A broader approach is required and investigation of certain apparently successful unorthodox holistic cancer therapies suggests that the personality of the therapist is crucial. The spiritually convinced, charismatic healer has all the qualities of a meditator, and physiological measurement demonstrates that such a healer induces the state of meditation in his patients. Meditation is associated not only with physiological rest and stability, but also with the reduction of psychological stress and the development of a more positive attitude to life with an inner sense of calmness, strength and fulfillment. Holistic cancer therapy should include meditation, especially by the therapist, and psychosomatic research, like physics, should include the study of consciousness